Tread Softly
by sweetart28
Summary: Cameron arrives late for work. Is there a reason why? One-shot, House/Cameron. Terrible summary, but read if you can! Set somewhere around S2 or S3, I guess.


A/N: This story is pretty much vague all over. Sorry about that, but I really felt like posting something. I have a serious case of the 'Finals' blues and it makes me happy to post. So, Enjoy! Oh, and review!

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"Was is a hot date?" House asked as he twiddled the dry-erase marker between two fingers.

"What?" Cameron countered as she swiftly took her seat at the conference table between her two male colleagues.

"Your reason for showing up to work so late…was it a hot date?"

"I believe that's none of your business," she replied. _Always the professional._

His eyebrows rose at her evasive comeback. "Sure it is. You work for me. You _must_ provide a valid excuse for why you're showing up, _oh_…," House glanced at his watch, "…thirty minutes late for work."

"My alarm didn't go off. Satisfied?"

"You should check to see if someone tampered with it. We can't afford to make this a regular occurrence."

"Oh _we_ can't, can we?" She crossed her arms over her chest assuming the classic Cameron defensive pose. Meanwhile, Foreman and Chase watched the exchange as if they were sitting front row center at the Wimbledon tournament.

"Well, when you're late, the whole office suffers. Imagine a world where I was forced to force Chase to make the coffee everyday." He visibly shuttered at the thought eliciting a slight smile from his female employee and a frustrated groan from the Australian. "That's a world I'd rather not live in."

"Sorry, Dr. House. It won't happen again," she conceded.

"We'll see." He threw his marker in the air, catching it with one hand before proceeding with the differential.

XxxxxxxxxxX

House, naturally, found her cramped in the small corner of the lab huddled over test tubes and a centrifuge. At least she wasn't crying.

"Test done?"

"It's running right now. We should have results in a few hours." Self-consciously, Cameron removed her glasses and guided a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Good," he said succinctly.

"Is there anything else you needed, Dr. House?"

"Yep, just some follow-up on your reason for being late this morning." She braced herself for whatever was about to come. "Two qualities usually spring to mind when I think about the good Dr. Cameron. One of them is unrelenting punctuality."

"What's the other?" she inquired with genuine curiosity.

"A firm ass," House answered, topping it off with an exaggerated wink.

"I set myself up for that one," Cameron muttered under her breath.

He shuffled a few feet closer until he was standing just behind her chair. "Of course, after last night, I can add a few more qualities to that list."

Her whole body seemed to involuntarily tense at his words. She still didn't quite know what _last night_ meant to him and hearing him speak so freely about it made her feel uneasy. This was a delicate situation that called for soft treading. The next words out of her mouth could make or break this…_thing_ between them. So she said what felt right to her. "I'd like to think that there are more than just a few."

He smirked at her brazen response.

When House didn't reply, she proceeded, shifting the conversation back to the original matter at hand. "Like I said before, it won't happen again."

He moved his free hand to the back of her chair wishing he could touch the soft skin behind it instead. "Which part? The lateness or the…stuff that came before?"

Cameron's eyes remained fixed on the pulsating machine before her. With a shrug of her shoulders, she gave an earnest answer. "That fully depends on you."

The room remained silent for what felt like ten minutes and Cameron began to wonder if House was still there. It wouldn't surprise her if she turned around and found nothing but empty space. He _was_ rather stealthy for a man with a limp. Suddenly his voice boomed, filling the dead air. "I expect my mail to be sorted, my coffee to be made, and my charts to be filled by the time I get in tomorrow."

She nodded, not quite sure what that meant for them. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it immediately as he continued. "Bring an overnight bag tonight and we won't have to worry about this again."

She tried to restrain the broad smile that was quickly spreading across her face, but her efforts were futile. "Only if you promise not to turn off my phone alarm again."

"You left me no choice. It was like a marching band passed through my bedroom."

"That's kind of the point of an alarm," she replied playfully, the smile evident in her voice.

He exhaled sharply. "Fine. I'll let you keep the alarm if you promise morning sex every time that electronic rooster interrupts my REM."

Cameron finally rose from her chair and turned, pushing herself up on her toes to mediate the height difference. She cupped his bristly cheek with her right hand and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was so soft and quick House didn't even have a chance to react when she retreated from his touch.

"Not a chance," she tossed over her shoulder as she confidently strode passed him and out of the room, wondering what she would wear that night.


End file.
